Introduction to Romanticism
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Introduction to Romanticism
The Romanticism time period occurred in America from about 1800-1850. Romantic writers saw themselves as revolting against the "Age of Reason" and its values. They celebrated imagination and intuition versus reason and calculation. Romantics also valued individualism versus social conformity. Essentially, romantics believe in the natural goodness of man, that man in a state of nature would behave well but is hindered by civilization. It is important to think about the Romantics as feelers, while the Rationalists were thinkers. Writers of this time period based their writings on the supernatural and human psychology. Romantic literature is personal and intense; it portrayed more emotion than ever seen in neoclassical literature. America's preoccupation with freedom became a great source of motivation for Romantic writers as many were delighted in free expression and emotion without so much fear of ridicule and controversy. They also put more effort into the psychological development of their characters, and the main characters typically displayed extremes of sensitivity and excitement. Furthermore, American Romantic writers believed that poetry was the greatest witness to the power of the imagination. As literary models, American Romantic poets used poems established by European Romantics. Poets such as Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, Lowell, and Holmes were referred to as the Fireside Poets because of their comfortable subjects appealing to families. |
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